Blueberry Icing
by HardCandyCherry
Summary: Fall Tyzula Week 2015: The seven birthdays that Azula almost didn't hate, solely thanks to Ty Lee and her relentlessly cheery efforts. Complete.
1. Part I

_Blueberry Icing_

 _by HardCandyCherry_

. . . .

Azula's 9th Birthday

Handwriting

. . . .

For her best friend in the whole world's ninth birthday, Ty Lee makes a handwritten birthday card filled with inside jokes. Ty Lee's mother groans and grumbles about how inappropriate that is to gift to a princess, and replaces it with a fancy card made by a calligrapher. Of course, Ty Lee shoves her own card deep down into her pink pocket and plans to give it to Azula anyway.

Azula is... not amused by her birthday. Or at least not satisfied by it and Ty Lee is not quite sure why. She can't think of a reason for Azula to _be_ unhappy about something as awesome as this. _Oh wow her mom_ though. No, Ty Lee is not stupid enough to think that Azula cares about that.

"You're really not having fun, are you?" Ty Lee asks as she hangs upside down from a tree. Azula looks lovely no matter which way Ty Lee is positioned, and she looks _super_ good today. Her hair is in these interesting curls that have not budged a bit for the entirety of the party.

"No. I'm not. These birthday parties have nothing to do with me, or you or anyone else they're _for_. They are exclusively a way for parents to flaunt how much they love their children and show up each other's extravagance," Azula states articulately and Ty Lee does not know what to say. She does not know what half those words mean, but she knows what Azula is saying.

"But birthdays are great! You can do whatever you want!" Ty Lee sings as she swings back and forth, the insides of her knees scraping against the coarse tree bark.

"I can do whatever I want any other day," Azula replies honestly.

Ty Lee tries from another angle. "Even if you don't care about presents or parties or anything, you _have_ to be happy that you survived for another year! Isn't that what it's about?" Ty Lee stabilizes herself and bats her eyelashes. It makes her dizzy, but is certainly worth it.

Azula pretends to contemplate that, which is a grand gesture of friendship from her.

"Yes, but from that perspective I am a day closer to my death."

"But every day is!" Ty Lee says it very cheerily, as if it was about puppies and not mortality. "Right? You never know when or how you're going to die either!"

Princess Azula starts laughing, which is a kind of weird sound since it's her rarest laugh. Ty Lee has noticed that Azula has a fake laugh, a mocking laugh and a real laugh, and _this one_ is the third one. Yes! Ty Lee is a step towards making Azula's birthday happier.

"That is true. I could be murdered. No, it would be an assassination, wouldn't it? Poisoning, perhaps? Or maybe I'll fall out of tree and break my neck." She cocks an eyebrow and Ty Lee does not get it. Maybe that is for the best.

Ty Lee thinks for a moment. "It's also another day closer to you being Fire Lord."

That makes Azula's eyes sparkle, but she tries futilely to hide it. The prospect sounds nice but, "There isn't an age limit. The youngest in history was barely older than me."

"Well..." Ty Lee keeps her mouth shut. Azula knows she was going to blurt something stupid out about Ozai having an age limit like Azulon did... not that it mattered very much. "I kinda believe in destiny. Right? Like everything is leading up to something that somebody else already decided was going to happen."

"A world like that sounds terrible."

"You'd like it if you were the one deciding." Ty Lee laughs, sways a little too hard and a piece of parchment flutters out of her pocket. She tries to catch it with a huge gasp, but then has to catch herself on the thick branch instead.

Azula plucks it off of the damp grass with a smug expression and Ty Lee simpers. Ty Lee had begun to agree with her mother about it not being an appropriate gift for a princess. Azula is a lot of things to Ty Lee on the inside; Ty Lee sees what Azula is at the core and what she is _destined_ to be and it is bright and beautiful.

It is written in the stars, in the writing of some nameless spirits who really did bless Azula with luck the moment she was born. Ty Lee has a thought about Azula's mother and swallows, the saliva catching in her throat due to her position; birthdays kind of involve the person who gave birth to you.

And presents are given to mothers really often. Ty Lee now feels even worse about how much she gets annoyed at Azula's very cold and sterile view of the world that is somehow more frustrating than Mai's cynicism.

But there it is! Azula's real laugh again as she looks at the paper and rolls her eyes. Oh, but it's a good eye roll and they both know that. Ty Lee grins victoriously and Azula sees it.

"You really do want to impress me. It's a level I have never seen in anyone before, and I'm sure you understand what high praise that is after seeing all of those people and their horrible efforts," Azula says smoothly and Ty Lee mostly doesn't understand her again, but she does understand the blush on ivory cheeks that Azula likely does not notice, and therefore cannot hide.

"I want to make you like birthdays. If that's impressing you, well, yeah, I wanna do that too. I mean, you really impress me."

"Of course I do. That's unsurprising." Azula glances over the card again, at Ty Lee who clearly has not been forced a thousand times to practice perfect handwriting and ancient characters until her hands were too sore to firebend. _And_ then be forced to firebend directly afterwards, no matter the pain.

Azula has the sudden urge to push Ty Lee out of the tree.

And so she does.

"It _is_ my birthday and I can do whatever I want, remember?" is Azula's unwarranted explanation as the card disappears into Azula's possession and never resurfaces.


	2. Part II

_Blueberry Icing_

 _by HardCandyCherry_

. . .

Azula's 13th Birthday

Kittens

. . .

Azula has no expression and Ty Lee has the desire to just poke Azula's lips into a smile if need be. It is her _thirteenth_ birthday which is a _huge_ deal, but Azula seems as displeased about it as she usually is about this amazingly special day of the year.

"I am green," Azula says and Ty Lee thinks she sounds unhappy.

 _Unhappy about this_... seaweed stuff. Okay, Ty Lee does not really know what it is but Azula has never had a _friends spa night_ ; she has only been dressed up for political events or cared for and that is very boring.

Azula touches her navel and can feel the overly floral scented seaweed lotion drying on her. The princess had quite enjoyed having it _put onto_ her, but she wants it off _immediately_.

"You look really amazing no matter what color you are," Ty Lee says genuinely with a warm grin.

"Well, I know that," Azula says calmly, shrugging once. Ty Lee chews on her lip in discomfort. "I think this is exceptionally boring, however."

Ty Lee sits down on the foot of the bed, her knees cracking from kneeling for so long, and examines her own dark green hands. They will probably be stained for days, but she thinks it will be worth it if she can make Azula like her birthday, even for a few moments. That is the whole point of fulfilling the uncomfortable series of requests that seem to Ty Lee like a cruel punishment of being a thirteen year old in love with her best friend.

She just wants Azula to have fun, no matter how much Ty Lee feels as if she has been set on fire.

Azula lies there on the bed, so confidently sprawled, with her knees up, in her underclothes with the green streaked across her skin. It is fairly uneven, and Ty Lee thinks she might not have a future as a beautician... and she thinks she might have liked doing this too much.

Mai seems very _knowing_ as she sits on the other side of the room, avoiding the hammer of Ty Lee and copious beauty products. She had that stupid smirk on her face when Ty Lee flinched and shivered a little bit when Azula requested a kind of slave labor that Ty Lee hated herself for getting excited about.

But Ty Lee is excited about _everything_. That's just how it works.

The candles flicker and dance in the shadows; Azula lit them and they burn with scents that Ty Lee cannot quite identify, but she finds pleasing.

"Rinse this off of me," Azula orders, standing up and walking across the room towards the empty bath. Ty Lee had kinda expected that she would have to get the lotion off somehow, but Mai is staring and even if she isn't making an expression, Ty Lee can tell what she is thinking.

Ty Lee _never should have_ told Mai about her crush on Azula. Ugh.

Especially since Azula was casually taking off her clothes and heating the water. And Mai no longer seems disinterested, somehow, as if Ty Lee's ruddy cheeks are somehow funny.

"Go on," is Azula's statement and Mai averts her eyes to keep from showing her amusement. That would be beyond inappropriate, even if she is struggling to resist.

"Of course." Ty Lee searches desperately for something to wash her hands with. She comes up short until she finds her own clothes from today and wipes the seaweed lotion onto them. It stains the pink with green, but Ty Lee thinks it is worth it.

"I once had this mama cat," Ty Lee says as she walks to the bath and kneels very uncomfortably beside it. She is certain Azula can see the embarrassment that Ty Lee never would have felt until the past few months and her escalating crush that she has done everything in her power to stifle. "And she had these kittens."

"Obviously," Azula interrupts and Ty Lee thinks her eyes might have glittered. Mai told her, Mai must have told her, ugh! But somehow Ty Lee swallows her panic.

"She _had kittens_ , and I was so excited, but then she got so scared because it was crowded and everyone was too excited. We had painters painting the house, right?" Ty Lee waits for a snide comment but does not get one. "And she hid her kittens in the _paint_ from us. It was so scary and awful. We had to pick the kittens out of the paint and wash them and it was so extremely cute."

Azula cocks an eyebrow. "So, you have hidden me in paint to... protect me?"

Ty Lee grimaces.

"No, no, I was..." _just trying to make small talk because I thought you found this awkward too._

Azula sighs. "It _was_ the kittens' birthday."

Ty Lee smiles excitedly. "You mentioned your birthday! Yay! I thought you forgot!"

"I am at a birthday sleepover, having a ridiculous birthday spa treatment. I am aware that it is my birthday and I have therefore not mentioned it for a reason." Azula leans back further into the water. "The mother cat must have thought your family was going to kill her kittens by dousing them in paint."

Ty Lee rubs her lips together as Azula stares at Ty Lee's hands rather expectantly. "Well, yeah, but I mean..."

"Therefore, I commend your efforts to hide me from my ever-approaching death," Azula says softly and Mai makes a sound a little like laughter. "If they had military awards for trying much too hard to make a sleepover interesting, I think you might... possibly be nominated. I don't know if you would _win_..."

"Thank you, princess." Ty Lee doesn't know what to say.

Azula knows exactly why. Because the pinker Ty Lee's face gets, the further Azula tests the limits and barriers between them. Azula could never enjoy a _spa night_ unless it came with a show.

Oh yes, watching Ty Lee try to avoid staring at her is almost a quality birthday present.


	3. Part III

_Blueberry Icing_

 _by HardCandyCherry_

. . .

Azula's 14th Birthday

Wine

. . .

"I've been practicing mixing party drinks," Ty Lee says cheerily. "I mean, I'm not really allowed to drink the liquor but I did find mint leaves and these just right berries to make a Ba Sing Se Blister and it was perfect except for, well, the boozey part."

Azula stares with her arms crossed over her chest in dissatisfaction. They should be focused on matters much more important than Ty Lee and her _drink mixing_. There is an Avatar loose and that should take first priority over whatever this inane babbling is.

"I'm thinking that parties are really important and I'm excited about them and so I thought I would learn how to be a sort of person..." Ty Lee smiles weakly.

Mai interrupts, "Yeah. I think your career options mostly include working at bars. It's probably a good life skill."

Ty Lee smiles an nods, completely missing the insult. "It could be like your birthday party, princess!"

"I have no need for a birthday party. I have a need to capture the Avatar and reclaim my family's lost property," Azula replies coolly. "And this military base bar is probably lacking in anything the any semblance of royalty would stoop low enough to drink."

And, that poor little bunny-lemur takes it as a challenge. Or, worse, a request. Ty Lee races away to go locate whatever liquor is good enough for Azula.

After Mai and Azula have forgotten that she is gone, she returns with a bottle of wine and some sparkly stuff.

"Birthday mimosas!" she declares, refusing any protest.

Azula pretends to not care. Maybe she doesn't care about the mimosas. But it tastes surprisingly good, and it does feel more rewarding than her current quest.

. . .

Azula's 17th Birthday

Rehab

. . .

Azula thought she would be alone today, but she is not. Maybe she should be excited about that, or maybe she should not care. She just knows that she has somehow managed to wound herself and she is now in a certain level of danger.

Escape will be difficult if Ty Lee chooses now to pounce. Azula knows that at one point this girl is going to betray her again, and she just hopes that it is not while she is playing along with Ty Lee and her far too salty broth and noodle soup and her obsessive attention to detail on Azula's snapped ankle.

"You are going to be so okay, and happy birthday too," Ty Lee says the minute Azula makes the slightest noise. It wasn't even a sound of pain, Azula swears. She is just frustrated with being trapped in the site of her tryst with this awful traitor.

"How do you know it's my birthday?" Azula stares coldly. "It's not my birthday, anyway."

"It is _too_ your birthday," Ty Lee says softly with a humongous grin and Azula averts her eyes snootily. "It _is_." Ty Lee taps Azula with the bottle of herbs that Azula has only just noticed.

"What is _that_?" Azula demands, preparing to light this entire place up and burn it to ashes.

"It's painkiller," Ty Lee says with another carefree smile, as if this happens every single day. "Happy birthday!"

Ty Lee hands it to the ghost princess.

The ghost princess sighs. "I'm taking it. But only because I _want to_."

It turns out to not be a bad birthday present at all.

Not at all in the slightest.

. . .

Azula's 20th Birthday

Roses

. . .

Ty Lee wears yellow roses in her hair and they look awful.

That is Azula's general consensus about Ty Lee and her bright, vibrant colors. She seems to think that such an atrocious thing could cheer Azula up, or turn her into some freakish person who takes pleasure in another year deep into the most pathetic excuse for a life there is.

"I know you said you don't want to do anything, but this is..." Ty Lee frowns at her feet. That is the first time Ty Lee has not smiled at a celebration, even if that celebration is just two people inside of a shadowy and stuffy room. "I hate seeing you this way all the time. I know birthdays aren't anything you like, and I don't want to try to force you to like things I like, but I want you to know that I like you and I'd love for you to like you too."

Azula stares at her wordlessly, as usual. Ty Lee takes a quick, sad little breath. She knows that this is how it always will be, even if she wants to change it.

Ty Lee begins to step away when Azula tears one of the yellow roses from Ty Lee's hair, stealing a kiss on her way back.

As Ty Lee touches the warm burn of the scar of Azula's kiss, with an expression of an angry cat, Azula pushes the rose into her raven hair and continues staring.

"Are we having fun now?" Azula asks coolly and Ty Lee laughs.

Better. Better. Azula genuinely hates to admit that the only thing that makes her birthdays redeemable are _this awful moron._

. . .

Azula's 25th Birthday

Shades of Blue

. . .

"There's nothing blue you can put in frosting. Just make a cinnamon cake like every other person who has ever lived," Azula says, sighing and waving her hand dismissively.

Ty Lee refuses to accept that as an answer. _Refuses_. "It's your twenty-fifth birthday and it is going to be super perfect! Super perfect just like you!"

Azula sighs and leans back. "I have no idea why you care so much. I don't even like blue."

"Your aura is blue and you have blue fire and the sky is blue, and _I_ love the sky."

"And _you_ have gotten progressively more selfish the more you presume that I will stay with you regardless of what you do. Therefore, if you're so certain I won't leave you, why are you putting work into a birthday cake like some type of servant?"

Ty Lee pouts. " _Because_ I love you."

"Right." Azula will never get it. "I think I enjoy watching you get so worked up over making sure I'm happy on my birthday."

Ty Lee smiles to herself and thinks Azula does not see.

" _Blueberries_! Blueberries would make frosting blue, right?" Ty Lee exclaims excitedly, her eyes sparked with the thrill of something so mundane.

"I'm not a cake slave," Azula replies, shrugging.

Ty Lee just smiles, kisses Azula on the cheek, and dashes off to find blueberries for her frosting.

. . .

 _Fin_


End file.
